“They say it’s a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels,” Cohen said in a speech to a nearly empty House chamber that was picked up today by ABC News. “You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it.”

Cohen, the only Jewish member of Congress from Tennessee, goes on to cite the example of the “blood libel,” the false claim that Jews use the blood of children in the preparation of matzoh bread. That phrase has been getting quite a lot of repetition since Sarah Palin used it to describe the questions that have been raised about her campaign statements and imagery after this month’s shooting in Tucson, Ariz.

Besides offering further evidence of the truth of Godwin’s Law, ABC says Cohen’s comments are proof that civility is already breaking down in Washington.